The invention relates generally to mixing liquid or dry materials and more particularly to a method and apparatus for efficiently mixing materials, such as for impregnating fertilizer with liquid chemicals with a minimum of contamination.
In mixing fertilizer with liquid chemicals, especially bulk fertilizer, prior art systems mix the chemicals with the fertilizer prior to the load out conveyor system. Such mixing results in contamination of the bulk fertilizer mixer and all of the load out conveyor system. If it is desired to change the fertilizer and chemical mix, such as changing from corn fertilizer with corn chemicals to bean fertilizer with bean chemicals, the whole mixing and conveyor system must be decontaminated, cleaned or washed out such as by a water or chemical spray. This can present a ground water contamination problem, due to the concentration of the chemicals and can require an expensive containment system to prevent ground water runoff contamination.
It also can be desirable to mix one fertilizer with another or to mix other materials such as livestock feed or other food products in a dry or liquid and dry form. One application can be adding liquid chemicals with dry salt to be spread upon areas to melt snow or ice, such as roadways.
It therefore would be desirable to mix wet or dry materials, such as fertilizers with liquid chemicals with a minimal amount of contamination of the mixing and load out conveyor system.